A heavy sigh emitted from Alex's throat once the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day and the end of the week as well. Slowly gathering her belongings, Alex leisurely started towards the door that was blocked by a tide of bodies scurrying out of the room, their shoes making dull shuffles against the marble floor. With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she sauntered out into the hallway, halting abruptly once she found Michael waiting for her to come out by the wall across from her.

Her heart raced and her body was trembling but for some odd reason, it wasn't out of fear but another sensation that she had found rather foreign to her body. Her chest was warm as well as her face and instead of running away, she wanted to stay in his presence. It was a very strange feeling and she felt awkward feeling that way about him.

She smiled faintly, "Hey."

"Hey," he greeted back with a faint smile of his own.

A wave of silence washed in between them.

"I was wondering..." Michael trailed off, anxiously biting down on his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Yes?" she questioned, quirking an arched brow.

"Well, we've already been doing this at school so I thought that maybe..."

"Maybe?" she inquired lightly, becoming a tad bit impatient to his constant trailing offs, not knowing why she was trying to make this hard for both Michael and herself.

"Maybe I could come to your place and you can tutor me there?" Alex feigned a smile, somewhat dismayed to the fact that he was only asking for her to tutor him.

Oh. It's just studying. Of course. Why would you let your hopes get up so high, Alex?

"If you want to-?!"

"I do!" he interjected elatedly with a desperate look in his eye and she jolted at his sudden enthusiasm. In the end, she giggled and he blushed.

"Okay. I'll see you at my house then."

"Sounds like a plan."

Michael watched Alex stroll away in utterable silence.

Why the hell did I do that?

He was so confused. He wasn't trying to ask her about having another tutoring session but instead  he wanted ask if he could cancel their tutoring sessions. She had only tutored him twice so far and he was already catching up with his studies. He felt as if he no longer needed her help anymore since he understood it on his own but now that he just asked her out for another "study date", he felt as if he wasn't asking to study but for something more. He wanted more to happen than reading a problem and then solving it. He wanted so much more.

She would never. Michael thought grimly, She didn't like you before, she doesn't like you now and she won't like you in the future! She will never be yours, Michael! Get over it!

Michael sighed heavily, "I need a drink."

Michael traced the smooth rim of his glass and stared down at the golden amber liquid foaming inside his mug. Scowling, he took a long swig from it and as the burning liquid cascaded down his throat, it carried along with it a disgusting flavor he had found rather unpleasant on his taste buds but that night, and like several other nights, he didn't care. The horrid taste was his only lover to comfort him and the only thing that give him hope for the future.

His liver should have been pretty pickled then, considering the amount of alcohol he had just consumed into his system. It was probably because he could no longer feel the effects on the beverages of the poison that was slowly killing him.

As he drained down the glass, he noticed the foamy substance residing at the bottom of his cup and ordered for another, more powerful drink; vodka, his all time favorite when his stress was really getting to him. He took a curt swig directly from the bottle and was able to feel himself slowly drifting off from the sober side to the drunken and zany side and in a matter of mere seconds, he felt glad. His worries and troubles had faded away into the back of his mind and he felt so relieved that moment, so happy and so very, very lonely.

Alex found herself becoming increasingly nervous as time slowly dragged on ever since Michael had asked for her to tutor him more. It confused her though because he seemed as if he already understood everything what he was taught without her help. She figured that he only needed minor help, nothing too big to cause trouble.

Surprised, she noted that she had been lost in her own thoughts. She frowned in puzzlement, looking around and seeing that Michael was nowhere in sight, neither inside nor outside.

"Hmm..."

I wonder where he is...

Alex then decided to wait for him outside of her apartment in the bitter cold and shudders wracked her body once the frigid wind wafted against her skin. She was glad that she didn't stay out there for long because she could see Michael in the distance, staggering into her direction with a gleaming object in his hand that she didn't take note of.

"Oh. H-Hey Michael," she greeted with her teeth chattering.

"Hey, baby," he slurred deeply.

Baby? Did he just call me baby?

Before she could respond to his nickname, he heavily leaned his body against hers and the overwhelming stench of the alcohol hanging on his hot breath washed over her senses and made her head spin.

"You're so pretty," he murmured before taking another swig from his bottle.

Michael's strange behavior brought up many questions for Alex, one of them being what was his reason for drinking so profusely and why did he have the sudden audacity to come to her home drunk. Horror claimed Alex's features once she heard the loud gulp of the alcoholic beverage going down his throat.

"Listen, Michael," Alex said as calmly as she was able to manage, "Why don't you just go rest inside? My uncle will be coming back in a few minutes and I'm sure that he'll be able to take you home-?!"

"I don' need a lift fr'm you," he snapped in a slurred voice as he jabbed a thumb in his own chest, "I am perfectly capable of drivin' m'self."

Knowing that it wouldn't do her any good arguing with a drunk person, Alex nodded in agreement with him, "I know you are but I think you should rest first."

A spark of anger flashed in his eyes at her words and he shoved her against the front door of the apartment building. The horrid stench of his alcoholic breath made her become lightheaded.

"Don't tell me what to do," he snarled, his words no longer slurred and for a moment, he no longer seemed like the drunk person he was moments before but instead looked as if he were sober and exactly like the bully he had always been.

Alex only stared, too overwhelmed with shock to respond, What should I do? What if he tries to kill me? Or rape me?! Oh no! What's gonna happen to me! Please, Lord! Help me!

"You know," Michael whispered tenderly as the back of his hand caressed her cheek, "you're pretty cute for someone who has a motor for a mouth."

"Michael, please-?!"

"Shut up!" he shouted and he seemed to have taken notice to the hurt look in her eyes and as he gazed into her eyes, his voice softened into a tender whisper, "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean anything by it. I was jus' a lil angry is all."

"I know..." she breathed.

Michael pressed his body harder against her and leaned his lips down to her neck where he gently placed light, butterfly kisses. Alex sighed in bliss as she basked in the warmth of his touch. She knew she shouldn't have let herself be so pleased by him touching her in this way. It made her heart flutter but she kept reminding, kept declaring that those kisses meant nothing to her.

Michael pulled away from her neck and bestowed brief, chaste kisses on her chin, then on her cheeks, then on her forehead. There wasn't a single part of her flushed face that was left untouched by his lips.

He pressed his forehead against hers and the inch gap between their lips was the only thing keeping them apart. He stared deep into her eyes as if he were looking within her soul in search for his other half then, ever so slowly, he gently cradled her face in his hands and pulled her closer to his face to lock their lips into a deep kiss, moving them as one unit, making the butterflies inside of Alex to take flight in the pit of her stomach.

Alex shut her eyes as she began to ignore the faint taste of alcohol dancing on his mouth.

There was no passion nor any love in that particular kiss. It was only sheer lust for the flesh of the opposite gender, that is, that's what she wanted to think. That's what she wanted it to be.

This is wrong! Alex suddenly thought, He's drunk, Alex. This isn't real. He doesn't like you! Stop it now! Push him away!

"Stop," Alex gasped and before she was able to continue, Michael crashed his lips against hers to continue the brutal kiss.

She shoved him away in response and dragged the sleeve of her shirt across her mouth in order to wipe away the taste of his lips off of her own. He was drunk. He had no idea what he was doing and he wasn't even thinking of it before he had done it. His actions could have meant anything to Alex, but to him, they meant nothing.

Michael scowled, angry that Alex had rejected him.

Alex frowned, "I'm sorry, Michael. I really am."

"You'll be sorry once I'm through with you," he shot back.

What?

Michael's hand had slapped her with so much force that she had fallen to the ground. He grasped at her upper arm and yanked her back up so that she was back on her feet. Dazed, she stared in shock at her resurrected bully.

I never thought that he would hurt me this way. Alex thought dismally, It never crossed my mind that he would ever start bullying me again. I thought we were friends. Maybe he doesn't mean what he's doing but still...

Without thinking, she stomped on his foot, wincing as if she had stomped on her own.

"You're gonna regret that you filthy slut," he slurred before his fist grazed along her cheek.

She stumbled to the ground at the impact and yelped in surprise once Michael pinned her down to the ground. He straddled her hips, snarling down at the girl with his cold stare hardening into a murderous glare. Alex futilely attempted to escape from Michael's hold on her but it was all a failed effort that only worsened. Michael gazed into her deep, fear-stricken gray eyes before flickering them down to her moist lips that had came into contact with his own not too long ago. He contemplated whether to kiss her or not but the constant struggling of Alex beneath him brought him back to reality.

"Stop it, Michael, please-?!"

"Shut up," Michael snapped, "Don't try to beg me you little whore."

He pinned her wrists above her head and rocked his hips against her warmth, eliciting a soft moan from her and causing himself to smirk.

"You know you want me," he growled as he leaned harder against her and he could feel her tense from beneath him.

She squeezed her eyes shut, vigorously shaking her head to fight back the tears burning in her eyes, "Please, stop," she pleaded.

Michael could feel the cold sensation of fear emanating from her body. She seemed so helpless under him like this, pleading him to stop in that pathetic voice of hers and struggling so effortless under him. He suddenly felt a nauseating sensation churn in his stomach and he tried in vain to finally start putting some real damage on her.

Her pleas were suddenly muffled with another brutal kiss. Pained tears began to leak from her eyes. Her head was pounding, her heart was racing and in her mind, she prayed so hard for someone, anyone to come to he aid.

In a second, the harsh contact had vanished at once by a loud grunt and the sound of a body stumbling to the ground. At once, she knew that she had been saved and a wave of relief washed over her like a blanket of warmth. She knew that Bruno would come with his gentle sapphire eyes and his compassionate smile. She owed her life to him twice then.

She was shocked when she wasn't met by Bruno's sapphire eyes but instead, she met the cold glare coming from two dark orbs; her uncle's.

She forced herself up to her wobbly legs, propping herself against the door to support her weight. She flickered her gaze down to Michael who was laying motionlessly on the ground in a seemingly comatose state and she snapped her gaze back up to her uncle, her gaze instantly hardening into a glare.

She did owe him for saving her life(and possibly her virginity) but she hated how she had owed him. She didn't want to owe anything to him, even if he did help her. She was somewhat dismayed to the fact that he had hurt Michael but she was also glad that Michael didn't cause her too much damage, at least, not any visible damage. He did try to take advantage of her after all.

"Go inside," Uncle Joe said in a deep, gruff voice.

Alex slowly nodded her head and risked one more glance over her shoulder at Michael before shakily starting her way inside the apartment building.

Michael could tell within the first five seconds he opened his eyes, he did not want to wake up. His head was hurting, his eyes were burning, his body was aching, his head was hurting, his stomach was churning, his head was hurting, his tongue was dry and holy shit did was his head hurting.

Hangover, was the first bitter word that popped into his head as the sickening taste of once-consumed alcohol slipped into his mouth, almost causing him to jolt upright and to vomit over the side of his bed. He didn't however because Michael had swallowed down the noxious taste.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he silently wished that the sun wasn't so bright and that it wasn't morning. He groaned once a knife of pain tore through his head, yanking him further and further away from his peaceful slumber. He decided to turn on his side so that his back was facing the golden rays pouring into his room but unfortunately, as he shifted, a nauseating sensation rose from his stomach up to his throat and with little effort, he fought the foul taste back down his throat.

"Michael!" a high voice shouted from outside his bedroom. Michael could hear their small feet pounding against the wooden floor in the hallway coming towards his room.

His face scrunched up into one of a slightly annoyed expression at the sound of the high voice and he shifted slightly so that his back was facing the door.

"Michael!" the voice shouted again, more louder and higher once the caller emerged into the room and Michael winced as his head pulsed with pain.

He clasped his hands over his ears to block out their voice, "Would you lower your voice?!" he snapped, "My head's gonna split in two with you hanging around here yelling like that!"

Janet giggled lightly at her brother's discomfort. "My bad, AppleHead."

She made her way towards his bed and draped a damp towel over his forehead so that it covered his eyes. He responded with a murmured "Thanks".

"So, after you jacked up your liver with all of that alcohol," Janet began teasingly, "what did you do? You didn't come home until one in the morning. You must have done something pretty interesting to come back that late."

Interesting she says? Michael thought furrowing his eyebrows. Interesting as in me, a seventeen year old boy having almost raped the girl that he loved because he was too drunk to even realize what he was doing was out of character? Oh yes. An interesting night that certainly was.

"Not that I can remember," Michael replied wearily as he massaged his throbbing temples, "Everything is a blur. What about you?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing, huh?" He slipped the washcloth down his nose so that he was able to gaze into Janet's eyes, "A boy came over?"

Janet blushed, "Well, yeah," she began awkwardly, "But we didn't do anything though."

"Hm," Michael scowled at the thought of someone taking advantage of his little sister and it made him sick thinking about the way he had tried to take advantage of Alex.

"You better watch out for those boys, Jan. All they wanna do is screw around with desperate girls."

"Michael," Janet groaned, "it's not every boy's objective to screw the first girl that they see."

Michael held his hands up defensively, "Hey, I never said it was. But I'm just saying since I have had personal experience acting as a hormone-raged twelve year old and I must say, I wanted to screw every attractive girl I saw prancing up and down the streets in those mini skirts. I'm telling ya, Jan, most boys your age are just discovering the world of sex and most are starting to get more and more curious about it. Next thing you know, their curiosity overwhelms them and then, BAM! You're pregnant. It happens that quick!"

Janet rolled her eyes, "Walter isn't like that. He's different than the rest." Michael could almost taste the frustration in her voice.

"That's exactly what he wants you to think."

Janet shot him a cold glare as she straightened herself up so that she seemed a few inches taller than her average height. "Just because you almost took someone else's virginity, it doesn't mean that every boy on this earth is just like you!"

Michael's eyes flew wide open at her words and he jolted upright quickly enough to see that Janet was stomping towards the door. She instantly came to a halt though once the door slammed before she was able to step out into the hallway. She whirled around to face her brother, blinded by anger and rage, his nostrils flaring and his eyes glaring murderous daggers into her own innocent, doe-like eyes.

"What'd you say?" he demanded in a low snarl. It was a cold, harsh, almost frightened tone, almost as if he were afraid of her answer.

"You thought it'd be fun to hurt the only thing you haven't damaged?" she asked glaring back into his eyes.

"Shut up," Michael snapped, "Just shut up."

Please stop it. Stop talking like that, please!

"Did you think it would be amusing to just force your love on her? To force yourself inside of her?"

He could still her screaming, pleading, begging for him to stop. Her piercing voice gnawed at his heart and haunted his inner thoughts. He couldn't even think straight anymore with that stupid hopeless look on her face burning in his memory.

"She hasn't done anything to hurt you and yet, you treat her as if everything she does is what she deserves. Why do you do this to her? Is it because she doesn't love you back?"

Michael froze at her words, a heavy sensation of dread creeping up inside of him. There were so many questions he wanted to ask that moment, questions like "Why would you say that?" and "How do you know that?" and "How could you say that?"

Instead, he asked a question that shocked them both, "Why can't she love me?"

The anger, his fear swelled up inside of him, threatening to consume him entirely. He couldn't take this anymore! Not with this guilt or this headache.

Blinking hard, he shoved Janet aside, swung the door open and heavily strode down the hall, his bated breath growing more harsh and ragged the further he walked. He couldn't believe he was letting himself feel this way about her, even after all he had done to hurt her. It confused him to how he still felt these strange feelings surging within him and then later feeling guilty about them.

Just like now.

He smothered his face in his hands and whimpered at the feel of his heart pounding against his chest.

"I hate this!" he cried.

Why does she make me feel this way? Her, of all people, she makes me feel like this! She's driving me crazy!

He plopped himself down on the porch swing in the front yard and heaved a long, shaky sigh.

Would she even like me back? Well, there's a possibility that she could actually...

"No..."

I can't think that way. If I could ever think that she felt that way, I would never be able to forgive myself.